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Jure Grando
Jure Grando or Giure Grando (? - 1656) was a person from Istria (Croatia) who may have been the first real person described as a vampire in historical records. He was referred to as a strigoi, štrigon or štrigun, a local word for something resembling a vampire and a warlock. Story Jure Grando was a peasant who lived in Kringa/Corridico, a small place in the interior of the Istrian peninsula near Tinjan/Antignana, Croatia. He died in 1656, but according to legend, came back as a vampire (štrigon) and terrorised his village until his decapitation in 1672. According to the legend, for 16 years after his death, Jure would arise from his grave by night and terrorise the village. The village priest, Giorgio, who had buried Jure sixteen years previously discovered that at night somebody would knock on the doors around the village, and on whichever door he knocked, someone from that house would die within the next few days. Jure also appeared to his terrified widow in her bedroom, who described the corpse as looking as though he was smiling and gasping for breath, and would then sexually assault her.Croatian Dracula Revived to Lure Tourists When Father Giorgio eventually came face to face with the vampire, he held out a cross in front of him and yelled "Behold Jesus Christ, you vampire! Stop tormenting us!" At that moment tears fell from the vampire's eyes. The bravest of the villagers led by the prefect Miho Radetić chased and tried to kill the vampire by piercing his heart with a hawthorn stick, but failed because the stick just bounced off of his chest. One night later, nine people went to the graveyard, carrying a cross, lamps and a hawthorn stick. They dug up Jure's coffin, and found a perfectly preserved corpse with a smile on its face.Jure Grando - Istarski vampir ili ljudska mašta? Father Giorgio said: "Look, štrigon, there is Jesus Christ who saved us from hell and died for us. And you, štrigon, you cannot have peace!" They then tried to pierce its heart again, but the stick could not penetrate its flesh. After some exorcism prayers, the one villager, Stipan Milašić, took a saw and sawed the head off. As soon as the saw tore his skin, the vampire screamed and blood started to flow from the cut, and soon the whole grave was full of blood. According to legend, peace finally returned to the region after Jure's decapitation. Writings Carniolan scientist Johann Weikhard von Valvasor wrote about Jure Grando's life and afterlife in his extensive work The Glory of the Duchy of Carniola when he visited Kringa during his travels.Writer Boris Peric at the Literaturhaus in Switzerland Boris Perić, Vampir, Biblioteka 21, Zagreb ( Naklada Ljevak) 2006. (Croat) ISBN 953-178-741-7 This was the first written document on vampires.Boris Perić, Vampir, translated into Slovene by Iztok Osojnik, Zbirka Beri globalno, Ljubljana (Tuma) 2007. ISBN 978-961-6682-05-3 Grando was also mentioned in writings by Erasmus Francisci and Johann Joseph von Goerres (La mystique divina, naturelle, et diabolique, Paris 1855), whose story was much more elaborate, full of fantastic details to make the story more interesting and sensational. In modern times, Croatian writer Boris Perić has researched the legend and written a book (The Vampire) on the story. Modern times Today, Kringa has embraced the story of Jure Grando and have opened up a vampire themed bar aimed at attracting tourists to the town. The Juraj Dobrila gymnasium in Pazin created a short film called "Vampire of My Homeland" (Vampir moga zavičaja) based on the writings from Valvasor.Film of the Vampire from Kringa The folklore related to the štrigun has recently been documented and examined by numerous scientists at the University of Zagreb. References External links *Croatian Dracula Revived to Lure Tourists *Jure Grando: Istrian Vampire or Human Imagination Category:Corporeal undead Category:Slavic mythology Category:Croatian folklore Category:Vampires Category:1656 deaths Category:Year of birth unknown